Into the Wood
by Lightan117
Summary: "I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." ― Marilyn Monroe Jacob/OC Embry/OC Seth/OC
1. Prologue

"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." ―Neil Gaiman, _Coraline_

~oOo~

_**Fate has dealt you it's hand**_

_**Trapped you in world you can barely stand**_

_**Will you cower there?**_

_**Or rise up an endure?**_

The world was always a strange place. It's covered in these multicolored animals with no sense of what's going on around them for their eyes are closed shut to many truths out there. It's funny; my people have shaped their world and yet we hid in fear of them.

Well we used to hide in fear.

Now we walk among them like shadows, silent guardians whenever something or someone steps a toe out of line. We created the monsters out there, giving them their freedom but so long as they followed our rules along with theirs. They can hide under the bed all they like but when the come out from hiding they better know that it will my people to separate their heads from their shoulders should they get this funny idea in their head that they're all-powerful.

They can destroy the world and the flesh-lings that walk it.

I've been on this world for over three hundred years, a teenager to my people, with my mother who is head of our coven. I'm heir to our coven, much to my displeasure but I have a responsibility. And like any responsibility to uphold you have jobs or assignments you must do.

Even if they involve people you know.

Friends, family, doesn't matter.

Rules are rules and you can never change them.

Or else chaos ensues, and the world crumbles.

_**What to do?**_

_**Rain has stopped falling**_

_**The sun has stopped shinning.**_

_**Our luck has left us,**_

_**All alone...**_

"Serenity, you're being called by the council. They will see you now." My mother said and I got up from where I sat. I had been called before them an hour ago and just now am I being called in. They love to be late and yet at the same time, they dislike when other people are late.

I followed my mother into the room where the elders were seated in high court like chairs behind pedestals. All had white hair but their faces looked untouched by time. Our kind do not age past twenty but something can never stay the same. We can die, of course, like all the rest but we do not age.

"Embrace the light." The Elders spoke all together.

"For the night is dark and full of terrors." I answered them.

"Serenity we have called you for an important task." Elder Sinclair spoke, his voice echoing throughout the room. A woman came over to me and handed me a vanilla folder with a human's profile in it. "A human had decided to inject herself into a situation that causes quite a problem for us." He said as I flipped through the file.

"What's the situation? Is she dead already or held captive?" I asked.

"No." He clasped his hands together and leaned forward. "She's volunteering."

I froze. My eyes widened and I eyes went to my elders. It's not uncommon that humans would 'volunteer' but there is always something or someone that made that decision for them. Usually they change their minds and the situation moves on but they wouldn't call me in for something like that.

"She's volunteered freely for the past three years." Lady Roma spoke this time. I knew Lady Roma well, she helped improve my gifts while my mother was away for some time.

"What? And you haven't handled this situation sooner?" I asked them and they shook their heads.

"As you know, some families have the privilege to expand their coven like any other should they go through the right channels and consult us on such things, I don't need to go into length detail about this, but this one has yet to inform us but has had the nerve to involve the Volturi through their stupid actions." Elder Mycroft said. A pig-headed man if you ask me.

"What coven?"

"The Olympic." My mouth formed a frown as I flipped to the last page where it showed her relation to said family. I knew them well from years ago and haven't heard from them in a year when they moved down from Alaska but this?

This is unlike them...

What are they thinking?

"You will go to Forks, Washington and get this situation under control. We cannot have the other races thinking that we are weak, allowing such actions to go unnoticed." Elder Sinclair brought the whole together as one voice. "Find the human, explain to her that her actions are that of a child, and give her the choice of 'volunteering' on such things. This coven cannot go unpunished."

"You know what you must do." Lady Ivy said, her voice low and threatening. Going against the elders, going behind their backs was something only the foolish would do. I know this family. They couldn't possibly forget something like this.

But I have to.

I have to follow orders and the rules given.

We keep our kind and the others in line if it weren't for them.

We created them and like all creations, they will rebel if not given the chance to prove they do not need a leash. There will always be those few who wish to test their creators and it's up to those certain few, like me, to put them back in their place.

_**And now with the stars a line.**_

_**We finally say good-bye.**_

_**I offer this eulogy,**_

_**That chills to the bone.**_

_**I sing my song just for you.**_

_**Requiem for the dead **___**Shikabane**__

_**Who feel no pain**__._

"What are our orders then?" My close friends, also heirs to their coven, decided to tag along with me on this very demanding assignment. We had just landed in Forks, Washington when Lora Ravencroft, a girl with blond hair and blue eyes, asked the question. While we waited for our cars to arrive we stood at the front doors of the airport looking like normal tourists.

"Lora, you can head to the safe house and made sure the seals are up." I turned towards Sabrina Bishop, a girl with neon pink hair and hazel eyes who stood with a smile on her face. "Rin, I need you to deliver a message to the shapeshifters for me. There is man by this address," I gave her a piece of paper with the directions to the house. "his name is Samuel Uley, the pack leader. Tell them there will be a meeting with the vampires about our situation in three days. If they wish, they can meet us at the border to hear more about what we are doing here. Tell them that we will be here until this matter is solved and will not interfere with their jobs at protecting their homes."

"Got it boss." She said with a smile. I shook my head just as our cars pulled up and the drivers got out. "What will you be doing?" Sabrina asked me.

"I'm going to go visit some old friends." I said, my voice stiff as I loaded my bags into the trunk. I sighed as I got in, driving away from the airport. The girls and I took different roads to get to our destination. Mine took me to a secluded house with nothing but large windows and a posh look about it.

I got out of the my car, straightened my clothes, then marched upon the door with a heavy heart. I knocked, and waited for someone to answer the door. When it opened I was met with smiling woman, golden eyes shinning while her dark brown hair looked perfect in place.

"Hello Esme." I said and the smile sort of faltered.

"Serenity Cromwell, what a surprise to see you. Time certainly has been kind to you last time we saw you. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"You know fully well that when I come knocking it's more than likely not a pleasant visit." I sighed and folded my hands in-front of my body, my posture business like, with my eyes cold. I couldn't show favoritism, not now.

I have a job to do.

"Oh dear, I wish it was." She said.

"Is Carlisle home? I need to have words with your family." I said and she stepped aside.

"He's in. Please, come in and make yourself at home." She said. I stepped inside and gave her a sad look.

"Trust me Esme, I wish there was another way. I'm so sorry." I let my feelings come in and she seemed to be reassured by my words. "I will try and sort this out with as little to no problems. But I cannot make any promises."

"Of course." She said and lead me into the living room.

This is going to be one hell of an assignment.

~oOo~


	2. Unexpected at meetings

"_I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." __― __Marilyn Monroe_

~oOo~

(**Sabrina's POV**)

As I drove to the reservation, I couldn't help but feel excited.

This is my first mission away from the safe zone. I'm the youngest out of our small group, only by a hundred year or so, and my mother always kept me close. My older brother is just like her, always keeping me away from the darkness and shadows and things that go bump in the night. But I know what goes bump in the night and I wasn't afraid. Not all things in the dark are evil.

Sometimes they're misunderstood creatures.

I followed the directions on the note till I reached the most amazing house in the woods possible. It was large, and cool looking, and made of wood. Things made of wood like that are awesome looking! I mean, come on! They have a tree growing on their front porch! That's awesome! Anyway, I pulled up, parked the car, and got out. I straightened my clothes but then turned to look at my hair.

Pink hair.

That won't do.

I put my hands at my hair-line, concentrating before running my hands down my hair, changing the color to a pretty auburn hair. Gotta love magic. Greedy uses are amazing. After I fixed my hair I approached the house, noticing that only one person was inside. It seems that the dogs are patrolling their turf. Here goes nothing.

I knocked.

"Hello?" The woman who answered was beautiful expect for the scars on the right side of her face. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Hi, my name is Sabrina Bishop. Is Samuel Uley home?" I knew he wasn't home but I just couldn't come out with 'hey! I'm a witch, is your wolf boyfriend home?'.

"No he isn't, he's at work right now but he should be home soon. May I ask what this is about?" How, how her emotions are ranging inside. Poor dear.

"Nothing involving me; well sort of, but not what you think." I said and I groaned and shook my head. I looked at her, changed my eyes color to blue real quick before clapping my hands together with a smile. "I'm a witch can I come in?"

Fuck it.

"A witch?"

"It's a long story but I promise I'm not a vampire and I will explain everything. And I'm sorry about what the hell I'm saying, I've never done something like this before." I said and the woman laughed.

"Come in then, I'm Emily." She said and let me inside. Thank god. I prefer laughter than anything else. Once inside she offered me a muffin, which I gladly took since I hadn't eaten since I landed, then began to explain to her the situation. She took it rather well, saying that the Cullen's should have told us about Bella. We ate her muffins and drank tea, witches as classical like that, and talked. Emily is probably the best person here so far. She takes weird pretty well considering all the questions roaming around in her head but I decided to leave out the mind reading part of a witches abilities. That would creep her out big time. After tea, she began to clean up but I grabbed our cups, saying that it involved a hobby of mine. Hobby? More of an obsession I have with reading tea leaves. "What are you doing?" Emily asked.

"Tea reading. It's a hobby of mine and my sister call me weird but my mom was always into tea leaf reading. She taught me and it stuck with me." I told her and read mine first. I smiled.

"Tea reading?"

"When you finish your tea, like the way I prepared it, there will be wet tea leaves at the bottom of the cup. They form shapes that depict the future, past, and everything in-between."

"What does yours say?"

"It says that an unexpected surprise will happen soon." I looked at her and shrugged. "Their not really descriptive, but once you memorize the pictures that appear you can kind of decipher what they mean.

"And mine?" She handed me her cup and I gladly took it, looking it over. I looked up at her with a shocked face and she asked what was wrong. "You're not pregnant are you?!"

"What?! No I'm not!" She said shocked and I smiled, handing her the cup.

"But you will be." She dropped the cup and it shattered on the ground. Her face was full of shock and tears were in her eyes.

"Why do I get this feeling that you're telling the truth and you're not lying?" She asked and my smile grew.

"Because witches don't necessary lie. We tend to stretch the truth but we don't lie. And I never lie about my tea leaves." I told her before bending down to pick up the pieces of the destroyed cup. Just as I placed the pieces in the sink I heard the door open and voices flooded the house.

Now why am I suddenly nervous?

Shit.

"Sabrina, Sam's home." Emily called from the dinning room. I took a deep breath and walked out, noticing two large burly men standing in front of me. I smiled shyly and waved.

"Please tell me Sam's the really big guy." I said and Emily laughed. Sam, the extra tall and bulky dude smiled but his eyes held suspicion. "I'm Sabrina Bishop. My...sister of sorts told me to deliver a message to you." I told him.

"What about?"

"The Cullen's and a certain human. They broke a rule and we're here to settle the matter. She wanted me to tell you that we're meeting the family and the human at the border where the lands are almost touching but are separated by the river. She wanted to tell you that you can come and watch, seeing as though her...volunteering conflicts with your treaty." I explained to him.

"And who are you?" another male spoke up and I noticed that he was slightly smaller than Sam but his eyes are mean and somewhat scary. I rolled my eyes before shaking my hair, returning it to its neon pink color.

"I'm a witch you dope. We're the neutral party that keeps all supernatural beings hidden and put of human's sight."

"You're on the vampire side?" Another one spoke but I couldn't see them.

"We're on nobodies side but our own. If we allow them to bite Bella behind our backs it makes us look weak, allowing the others to think that they can get away with anything. Which is why we've been called in." I told him and Sam nodded his head.

"Do you think you can get this settled?" He asked and I sighed.

"I honestly don't have an answer for you but I can tell you that we'll try to settle this as soon as possible and with little to no conflicts." I told them looked at the clock to see that I really needed to get moving. "Like I said, in two days, you and your pack are welcome to join us but I need to get going. Come by the house if you have any questions. It happens to be the only house that sits on the border." I told them and Sam moved out-of-the-way, only to have my way blocked by another person of his pack. He smiled at me but when our eyes met I knew I was screwed. He looked at me like I was the most wonderful person in the world and it made me all fuzzy inside. Great!

He imprinted on me!

Well that was unexpected.

Damn tea leaves...

"Shit." One of the guys said but the boys smile just widened. I looked back at Sam with a shocked face and he started to laugh.

"I am so sorry. I did not expect that to happen." I said and smacked myself in the forehead. "This just got a lot more complicated."

"Hi, I'm Seth!" The boy came over and held out his hand with the most beautiful and perfect smile I've ever seen. I giggled and shook his hand.

"I'm Sabrina." I said and he said my name, testing the waters of saying it. I turned back to Sam, letting go of Seth's hand. "My sisters and I will figure something out about this. We know about imprinting and the like so stuff like this needs to be handled a different way. We'll figure something out." I repeated and internally smacked myself again. "I need to go." I said and bid everyone good-bye. Seth tried to follow me but I told him we would see each other soon.

Serenity is gonna kill me.

~oOo~

(**Serenity's POV**)

I sat across from the vampire couple, the time ticking away as we just sat there, not saying anything. The cup of tea Esme gave me still sat on the coffee table still steaming. None of us wanted to speak because if we did, we'd have to bring the problem to light. I knew this family since Carlisle turned Edward. I was there when he turned Esme and the rest of his family. We were close which is why the elders wanted me to do this. A slap in the face but also a test to see if I would but family aside for the greater good of all the others.

I don't know.

I was always taught there was always another way.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked finally after enough silence.

"We were going to tell you Serenity." Esme said.

"We understand that Esme but it's the when that bothers us." I turned to Carlisle. "You know the protocol for stuff like this. People's memory's to erase, witnesses to her death, her name in our books. Carlisle we have enough unregistered vampires as it is in the world we don't need anymore. You, and you alone, have the right to turn others not Edward. He's not old enough or had that amount of respect from us." I said. Just as he was about to speak four of his children came home. Only one of them is missing.

"Serenity..." Alice said, her face in shock. "I didn't see you coming." she put on a fake smile and I shook my head like a disappointed mother.

"You better than anyone Alice that when it comes to matters like this, we do not want anyone to see. No one can hide this way. Sit. All of you." They did and sat with Carlisle and Esme. "Where's Edward?"

"He's with Bella. They should be over later." Alice said and sighed.

"How are the rest of you doing?" I asked with a real smile.

"As best as we can be." Emmett said and Rosalie rubbed his back.

"You're here about the human aren't you?" She asked and I nodded my head. She rolled her eyes. "I knew that human was nothing but trouble."

"Rosalie, she's family." Carlisle said but Rose stood up.

"Not if she brings them here. Everything was fine till Edward got involved with her." She huffed and I watched as Jasper calmed her down so she would sit down again.

"That is why I m here. She has to make a choice whither she wants to or not. In two days we are holding a meeting with this Isabella Swan at the border."

"Are you inviting those mutts?" Rose shrieked.

"They are part of this just like any of you. She turns, the treaty is broken, then a war breaks out. A war is the last thing we want to happen out of this. People pick sides and I can't pick." I stood up and thanked Esme for the tea. "Two days. Make sure Eddy brings the girl or we will find her ourselves." I told them then said good-bye.

This is not gonna be good.

Something bad will come of this.

~oOo~

When I got back to the house my sisters were there. Sabrina was taking out the trash from cleaning while Lora was at the tree line, making sure the wards were up in case of unwanted visitors. I got out and grabbed my bags from the trunk, going inside to unpack.

"We have a problem." I turned around to see Lora standing in the door way.

"And that would be?" I asked, packing away my jeans and hanging up my dresses. She turned her head so that Sabrina would step forward. "Sabrina?"

"When I went to see the wolves, one of them...imprinted on me." She said and Lora shook her head.

"What is it?" I asked. "One of the wolves is her soul mate, we should be happy." I said but there was something off about Lora. Sabrina is an elemental witch while Lora was all about mental powers. Seeing what is to come is her specialty. "What did you see?"

"Sabrina isn't the only one who be imprinted on." Lora said with a frown.

"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked. I can see into the future too but not as strongly as Lora. I have all powers but they're all equally distributed so no power is stronger than the other. Kind of a pain when I see elemental use their abilities at a higher level than mine.

"When I saw the future of the imprints I saw pain, sadness, and fire. We need to get this over and done with." Lora said and Sabrina looked worried.

"What about Seth? If we're separated, we'll die." She said and I brought her in for a hug.

"It's not going to come to that. We'll figure something out." I said and turned to Lora. "Let's order some food, and get ready for tomorrow." I turned back to Sabrina. "You can go see Seth tomorrow. I need to find out more about this human and Lora could use a vacation. Have hope okay?" She nodded her head. I sent her downstairs to order some food but I asked Lora to stay behind.

"What?"

"What did you see?" I asked her. "I want a straight answer."

"I saw the darkness moving fast through the forest. A burning fire and screams. I will be imprinted on and so will you. Only, your imprinting will be the most painful. Almost deadly and it isn't till that very second, that moment before you step over the cliff that you make a choice." Lora said and she gave me a hug. "I just hope you make the right choice." With that she let go and went downstairs to check on Sabrina.

I sighed, running my hands through my hair in frustration. Lora has never been wrong, seers rarely are. I opened the balcony door and stood outside. All because of this human, things are being set in motion. I can feel it in my bones just like Lora said, something is going to happen. It's like the darkness is creeping slowly in on us. Waiting, watching.

War is coming. I can smell it in the air.

~oOo~


End file.
